Interview with Chuck Anderson of NOPATTERN

2. Tell me about this or the last creative project you were personally proud of – big or small.

Alright – I’ll talk some more about the book I just did. I decided, after about 3 years of having my work become known in the online world, that I wanted to put a selection of my best and favorite work – old and new – into a printed collection of work. A book was obviously the easiest way to go about this…I knew it needed to be something small and something cheap for people to get…so I put together a 28 page, 5×7 book of my work. It was printed in an edition of 2,000 and is for sale on my site, www.nopattern.com. I’m really very proud of this – it’s exciting to put my work in people’s hands instead of in front of their faces on a screen. I just felt like everybody has a website, but not many people are doing books any more – especially in the design community where so many artists are focusing solely on the web.

3. What did you draw upon to inspire you for this project – (could be anything).

A while ago at an event in Chicago, I met up with Cody Hudson (www.struggleinc.com) and he gave me a book of his work. It was a 7×7 book of his work, about 48 pages…self-published. It made a huge impression on me, just having him be able to hand me that book for free. I figured it must have been a fairly inexpensive endeavor and it’s a great way to get people to see what you’re capable of doing. I think that was the first inspiration I had to do the same. As far as getting inspiration for the book itself, I just wanted full page, no borders artwork on every page. No blank pages, no pauses, no resting your eyes. Just literally an in-your-face compilation of what I consider to be the best of my best work.

4. Why did you use these inspirations? What human emotions do they play upon that you felt necessary for this project?

I think it’s important for people to see my work in this printed book format because art was really never intended to be viewed on a screen. I just felt very compelled to have people hold something. A book is tangible. A website is not. Far from it. Your server could go down, internet could go down, whatever…but unless you throw the book away or lose it, it’s always there. It is what it is, doesn’t change, and people can hold it. The human sense of touch was a huge factor and influence for me. Like I said, it was just very necessary for me to do something that allowed people to get my work in their hands. I feel like it makes a big impression in this day in age of technology and websites and TV. Books – big or small – are something I really value.

5. In your day to day work – how often do you feel inspired? Is it important to be inspired?

Oh wow – absolutely it’s important to be inspired. I don’t know any wise person who would say otherwise. If you’re not inspired, then what are you? You’re stagnant, dull, and lifeless. Inspiration is the root of creativity and imagination. From the time you’re born you are being inspired by your surroundings, your parents, your siblings, friends, and so on. And that continues throughout life as we mature and grow older – constantly being inspired by things around us and trying to process all that inspiration in our minds. As creative people, as artists, we try to take that inspiration and let it motivate our work. Whether the inspiration comes from nature, friends or family, situations in life be them good or bad, music, other artists, a movie…whatever. I feel inspired when I sit back and realize how blessed I have been in my life. When I really think about all the opportunities and privileges I’ve got day in and day out. Sometimes inspiration comes in big chunks and sometimes it comes few and far between – but when it hits you, you know it. And there aren’t many feelings like being truly inspired and excited about something.

6. How do you kick start your off-days: How do you find inspiration?

Usually I’ll head to a bookstore and just sit down with something to drink and look through stacks of magazines or books. Sometimes they’re art books, sometimes they’re books about things I love like dogs or entrepreneurs doing incredible things….I mean, it’s so random and so varied the ways you can find inspiration and kick-start your imagination. Sometimes I just get out of the house and go for a drive, or just go watch TV and zone out even. Taking breaks is a huge inspiration sometimes. It’s important to be able to take breaks and not feel like you’re being lazy. You owe it to yourself to take breaks from time to time – and those breaks can be bigger sources of inspiration than you think!

Thank You

NOPATTERN
THE BRILLIANCE